It has been noted that the United States spends more money on healthcare than any other developed nation in the worlds. However, it is absurd that the American people do not reflect better health. The delivery of healthcare in the US has become a growing problem among the American people. Sources reveal that the healthcare industry in the US gets an overwhelming 17% of the gross domestic product. To aggravate matters worse, the cost of health insurance has been spiking out of control. This paper seeks to evaluate the various solutions put forward to aid the healthcare system.
Two competing solutions to the healthcare problem in the US
Bending the cost curve has emerged as a solution that has been advocated by many health specialists as well as the Congress (Galea, 2017). This solution is designed to transform the delivery of healthcare in a manner that minimizes overall spending as well as enhance patient results.
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Another solution is the Affordable Care Act which has been passed by the Senate. This solution is oriented from shifting to fee-for-value from fee-for-service (Patel, 2017). This healthcare focuses on linking better patient health outcomes to physician payments. This has resulted into fewer readmissions as patients receive a better medical examination.
Evaluate which one is preferable
Bending the cost curve is the preferred solution to the poor and expensive delivery of healthcare in the US. This solution aims to cut down the healthcare insurance which has been rising out of control thus increasing the cost of healthcare. Reducing the overall spending of the health care while improving the outcome of patients is a more effective and proactive solution. The Affordable Care Act fails to find out the cause of the increasing cost of the healthcare system thus making the other solution more preferable. Bending the curve redesigns the entire healthcare system in the US to find ways to cut down cost while improving the delivery of services to patients (Galea, 2017).
Responsibilities of each level of the Government
The federal government has a bigger role in developing all aspects of the healthcare system around the entire nation. The federal government comes up with healthcare standards that are effective in providing quality medical and treatment services (Library of Parliament, 2008). These regulations will ensure that all the stakeholders involved become competent in their delivery. Also, the government can utilize other roles such as healthcare purchaser.
The state and local government play an important role in advocating for value-driven healthcare services. They are involved in employing medical staff and purchasing of health care (Library of Parliament, 2008). County executives, mayors, senators and governors support and implement policies and strategies forwarded by the federal government.
The Branches of the Federal Government
There are three branches of the federal government which are the executive, legislative and judiciary. The executive branch is involved with administration functions which are vital to the success of the healthcare industry. They ensure that all regulations are adhered to as well as monitor federal government policies within the industry (Library of Parliament, 2008). The legislative branch of the government is involved with coming up with laws and regulations that govern the healthcare industry. Affordable Care Act is an example of how the legislative branch influences the healthcare industry. Finally, the judiciary is involved in overseeing that laws or regulations passed by the legislative do not infringe the people of the US. It is also involved in reviewing coverage decisions by insurers, analysis of the adequacy of medical payment rates for hospitals and nurses, etc. (Library of Parliament, 2008).
References
Galea, S. (2017). The biggest problem with U.S. healthcare . Retrieved October 18, 2017, from www.fortune.com/2017/07/10/health-care-in-the-us-problem/
Library of Parliament. (2008). The federal role in health and healthcare . Publication No. 2008-58E.
Patel, N.A. (2017). Congress has forgotten America’s biggest healthcare problem . Retrieved October 18, 2017, from www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/07delivery_not_access_is_the_biggest_problem_in_the_health_care.html
